Jay Barnes has studied the storms that have impacted North Carolina and Florida for several decades. He writes and lectures about our rich history with hurricanes. His books, Fifteen Hurricanes That Changed the Carolinas: Powerful Storms, Climate Change, and What We Do Next, North Carolina’s Hurricane History, Florida’s Hurricane History and Faces from the Flood: Hurricane Floyd Remembered, not only feature meteorological records and accounts of physical damages, but offer amazing human stories of rescue, survival and recovery.
There are many lessons to be learned from recent hurricanes like Floyd, Irene, Matthew, and Florence. But a look back at the great storms of the past offers a long-term perspective on the nature of our hurricane threat. Jay’s books remain a fascinating and relevant accounting of the history of those great storms.
No one knows when or where it will strike, but we do know that eventually it will blast ashore somewhere and cause massive destruction — perhaps even greater than that caused by all previous storms. Since there is nothing anyone can do to alter that foreboding reality, the question is: Are we ready for the next great hurricane?
